


Leo's Brother

by GreyLiliy



Series: The Manfred Brothers [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Caretaking, Family, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2020-12-27 03:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21111752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyLiliy/pseuds/GreyLiliy
Summary: Leo is on his way to a complete recovery after a bad run-in with a Red Ice dealer left him in the ICU. But until he’s entirely back on his own two feet, Leo has plenty of time to get to know not only his new brother Markus, but also the android’s own homemade family as well.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have part two~ A little more angst will weasel its way in here, but mostly it should be the good stuff—brotherly bonding and all that. Family!
> 
> Also the Josh/Leo is because I like Josh and I started shipping it when I wrote the last fic. Lol. I’m sorry, Simon. No Manfred for you this time around. *pats him* It’ll be slow burn and on the side, so I’ll work my way up to it and it won’t take over the plot (hopefully). :D
> 
> The first chapter is a little short, but it works. Thank you for reading and enjoy!

“Hey, hey!”

Josh looked up from the magazine he’d been reading and spotted Leo hobbling his direction on his crutches.

The man passed Josh and hissed “I’m not here” under his breath before ducking in an alcove behind Josh in the hallway. Leo flattened himself against the wall and put a finger over his lips, both the motion and his eyes begging Josh to “be quiet.”

The source of the human’s stress strode down the hallway a moment later, his long coat flapping behind him.

“Hello, Markus,” Josh said, smiling. “You look frazzled.”

Their leader huffed and scanned the hallway with his eyes. “Have you seen, Leo?”

“I can’t say that I have,” Josh lied, shaking his head. He took a—hopefully discrete—step to the side to further block any chance Markus might see around the corner. “Did something happen?”

“No, but we had a PT session scheduled and I can’t find him,” Markus said. He took once more look around before he took a step. “He can’t have gone too far.”

“I thought you had his vitals hooked up to your sensors,” Josh asked. “Wouldn’t that tell you where he is?”

Markus dropped his shoulders. “North made me turn the program off. She said I was too distracted keeping track.”

“She might have a point,” Josh said. “You do tend to dote on him.”

“He still needs care,” Markus shot back. “Leo almost died a month ago and the healing process can be slow with injuries that severe.”

“Of course.”

“Just let me know if you see him,” Markus said.

He clapped Josh on the shoulder and continued his search.

Leo and Josh both waited for the sound of a door closing at the end of the hallway before the man snuck out of his hiding spot. The human had bags under his eyes and his hair was ruffled, free for once without one of Simon’s beanie projects.

“Thanks,” Leo said. He threw his head back and stretched it, cracking his neck as he went. Josh held the magazine to his chest, folding his arms over the small tablet. Leo took Josh's “I just lied for you” look to heart and explained himself. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate what Markus is doing, but I need a break from the mother-henning. He treats me like I’m ninety and so sure a bone’ll break if I cough the wrong way.”

Josh cracked a sly smile. “You did almost die last month.”

“Don’t you start too,” Leo said. He reached over, still leaning on his crutch, and pushed Josh in the shoulder. “I’m fine. My leg’s still messed up, but the rest is mostly healed.”

“You should still probably make sure to do the PT session with Markus, though,” Josh said. “You want your leg to keep healing, don’t you?”

“Why’d you lie to Markus if you were going to tell me to go see him anyway?”

“I didn’t say it had to be today,” Josh said. He nodded down the hallway in the opposite direction of Markus. “You can come hang out in my room until North gets back from her trip into town. She’ll keep Markus distracted.”

“Sure,” Leo said. He ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it down and readjusted his crutches. “Lead the way.”

They made it about five steps down the hallway before they were caught.

“There you are!” Simon exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Josh! You found him. Give me a second and I’ll call Markus to let him know.”

Josh and Leo exchanged a look as Simon tilted his head as he completed the task and indirectly let their leader know that Josh had covered for Leo.

“He’s on his way,” Simon said. He looked at Leo and crossed his arms. “You’re never going to fully recover if you skip your PT sessions.”

“So I’ve been told,” Leo said. He patted Josh on the shoulder. “Sorry, man. We tried.”

Simon looked between the two and asked, “Did I miss something?”

Josh laughed and shook his head. He braced himself as the door at the end of the hallway burst open and Markus came through it with an irritated—though somewhat amused—look across his face.

“Leo,” Markus said as he approached.

“Markus,” the human answered back in the same tone.

Josh snuck away while they stared each other down and mentally apologized to the human as he skipped away and left the man to his fate.

Maybe he’d make Leo a batch of cookies to make up for it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am taking so many liberties with the canon but that’s okay. Fanfic land. “I can do what I want,” as they say. (Also I’m very glad these chapters are short. I need to write more short things. XD)
> 
> I was in the mood for some frustrated Leo and fluffy Josh so here we are. Enjoy!

“This tastes so good I think I might cry,” Leo said. His fork, licked clean of every drip of sauce, hovered near his mouth as he praised Josh’s cooking. “Who needs Red Ice? I could get high off of this alone.”

Josh set the cheesecake he’d prepared for dessert on his living room table, next to Leo’s plate of steak and potatoes. He’d gotten the recipe from Simon, but he’d modified it based on what he’d picked up that Leo liked from all their taste-testing adventures.

He’d expected praise from the human, knowing his cooking had improved enough to warrant it, but he hadn’t expected that particular comparison.

“Leo, may I ask you a personal question?” Josh asked. Leo cut another square of steak and dipped it into the homemade sauce as he nodded in confirmation. Josh crossed his arms on the table and tapped them. “What was the appeal of Red Ice? What made using it worth the consequences it brought?”

The human chewed, his face turning in a thoughtful expression.

“It was better than the alternative,” Leo said. He cut a potato in half with his fork, pushing it around his plate. “The only thing dad ever gave me and mom was money. Sure it kept food on the table and a roof over our heads, but for a few years at the start, he only paid the bare minimum. Mom still had to work, so she was always tired trying to do that and take care of me.

“So between feeling guilty for mom and letting it sink in that dad didn’t want me, it was easier to take a hit of Red Ice and make the world go away for a while,” Leo said. He cut the potato half into a quarter. “Before long, it doesn’t matter that your life is at risk from dealers who want their money or that you’re broke and angry all the time—the feeling you get while on Red Ice is better than when you don’t have it.”

“I imagine that’s why it’s hard for humans to break free from it.” Josh knew about addictive substances on a surface level. He had lessons in his databanks specifically concerning drugs and their properties, though he never gave them much thought on a practical level. “Withdrawal symptoms can’t be easy, either.”

“They’re a bitch,” Leo said. He snorted and took another bite of his potatoes. “You want to know something? I almost got help for it once. Mom was tired of me being high all the time and gave me the information for a detox clinic.”

Josh cut Leo a slice of cheesecake and slid it toward him. The human smiled and took a bite, making sure to get a large cherry from the toppings on his fork. “I take it something happened to prevent you taking her offer?”

“Yup,” Leo said. He set the fork on the plate, next to the remainder of the dessert. “Markus happened.”

“Markus?”

“Yeah,” Leo said. He swallowed and bit his lip. He leaned back in his chair, grabbing one of his crutches to hold it. “I saw dad on the news as they announced CyberLife giving him a custom Caretaker unit. He looked so happy getting a fucking piece of plastic and all I could think of was that he’d never smiled at me like that.”

Josh flinched.

“Shit, sorry,” Leo said. He put the crutch back and covered his face. “But like. You guys weren’t…alive back then. You were just machines...or I guess maybe you were alive, but it’s not like anyone knew that.”

“It’s okay,” Josh said. Leo hadn’t called anyone in Jericho “plastic” since he’d got there. Josh could forgive a slip said in a moment of anger. “You know better now.”

“I know a lot of things better now,” Leo said, looking down. “It’s easier to look back and know that my issues weren’t Markus’ fault, and maybe I could have given my dad the benefit of the doubt and actually talked to him. But at the time? All I could see was red. I was so angry that dad wanted Markus in his house more than me and I went right back to shutting my brain off with Red Ice.”

“I imagine that was tough,” Josh said. He tapped his finger on the counter. “Not being wanted can be painful.”

Josh could still hear the cruel words through the drunken laughter in his head: “Who needs a computer for a teacher?”

If they hadn’t been under the influence, would he have ever heard what they really thought?

“You okay?” Leo asked. The concerned look cooled Josh’s bio-components. “You don’t look so good.”

“I’m just thinking about how much I dislike mind-altering substances,” Josh said. He reached over and patted Leo on the hand. “I know it wasn’t under the best circumstances, but I’m glad you’ve stopped using Red Ice.”

“Had a bad run in with a user?” Leo asked, wincing. He picked up his fork, fiddling with it back and forth in his hands. “I know first hand how bad that can go.”

“I can’t say I’ve run into a Red Ice user,” Josh said, smiling. “But I did get attacked by a group of drunk students on the campus I taught. That event woke me up and I was afraid of dying for the first time.”

“So you ran away to Jericho?”

“That’s right,” Josh said. He smiled, remembering the early days of the refuge Androids hovering together in a boat. They had each other and Josh felt truly safe for the first time, even with the death surrounding him from their lack of blue blood and parts. “I barely escaped, but I was still whole and better off than some.”

“I’m sorry that happened.”

“I would be, but I rather like being awake,” Josh said. He pushed the cheesecake closer to Leo and grinned. “Learning to cook and seeing people enjoy my food is a thousand times better than putting bored students to sleep with lectures.”

Leo snickered and took another bite of the offered dessert. “You have improved. And I meant it earlier, this is good.”

“I’m glad.”

Josh leaned back and watched Leo as he finished eating. He took a picture of the man’s contented smile over clean plates and made a note to print it out later.


End file.
